Lea Whitcher

is a Swiss-US-Amerian performer, writer, comedian and musician. Her devised plays focus on the fine balance between humor and abyss, the documentary and the utopian, entertainment and conceptual art. The private is political and so is laughing together in the theater when all we want to do is cry. Her overall goal is the global feminist revolution.

With her satirical music riot duo 9 Volt Nelly, she won the Oltner Kabarett Casting in 2016 and has since toured Europe. The current show Bäng! Bäng! Bäng! takes ideas of femininity and the American Dream to the point of the grotesque. In their podcast feminism by the pool they discuss difficult topics in bikinis.

In 2021, she developed her first solo show Mama Love at Fabriktheater Rote Fabrik, which she performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2022 as part of Pro Helvetia’s Swiss Selection and for which she received the Zurich City cultural award in 2023. It is the first part (nipples) of the trilogy #carecity, which investigates the idea of a care-centered society: The second part (ripples) is the performative research project _stories* which combines literature, community art and activism. The third part with the working title Dragon Love (waves) is again a solo show and will premiere in May 2025.

She last directed and performed in the music theatre project Overprotected with the inclusive ensemble from Theater Hora about Britney Spears and guardianship.

Upcoming projects

DRAGON LOVE (working title) – A political magic show about the nuclear family and the suspension of disbelieve (solo performance, 2026)

AT THE POOL – music comedy show about body politics (Duo 9 Volt Nelly, 2027)

Previous projects (still active/playable)

OVERPROTECTED – THE BRITNEY SPEARS PROJECT – inclusive music theater performance about guardianship (Theater Hora, 2025)

_STORIES* – ongoing digital/analog community art project in which authors from around the globe write stories that take place amidst the common vision of a global care revolution – green touring without travelling people possible (2024)

MAMA LOVE – autobiographical solo performance about toxic ideas of motherhood (2021)

BÄNG! BÄNG! BÄNG! — music comedy show about US politics and ideas of freedom (Duo 9 Volt Nelly, 2020)